| Subject: U.S. in new global warming battle |
Author:
Betty
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Date Posted: 08:37:10 11/05/04 Fri
In reply to:
Betty
's message, "Al Franken's Book" on 00:48:53 09/09/03 Tue
U.S. in new warming battle — over Arctic
Bush administration seeks to avoid mandatory action
A polar bear makes its way across a frozen stretch of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. An upcoming report warns warmer Arctic temperatures mean less ice in winter, among other changes.
MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 9:26 a.m. ET Nov. 4, 2004Deepening a rift over global warming policy, some European partners are accusing the Bush administration of trying to weaken a report that warns the Arctic is warming almost twice as fast as the rest of the planet.
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President Bush has made clear he opposes mandatory curbs on gases like carbon dioxide, which create a greenhouse effect on Earth. Many scientists fear fossil fuel sources of CO2 and other gases are warming the Earth beyond the natural greenhouse effect.
Bush also pulled out of the U.N.’s 1997 protocol on global warming, arguing it was too expensive and exempted China, India and other rapidly developing nations.
Most other industrial nations, most recently Russia, have agreed to Kyoto’s target of cutting developed nations’ CO2 emissions by five percent below 1990 levels by 2008-12.
'Sidetrack' strategy?
The upcoming report is the work of the Arctic Council, a group made up of the United States, Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
Ministers from the group are now working on recommendations ahead of a meeting of foreign ministers in Iceland on Nov. 24.
INTERACTIVE
• The greenhouse effect
How the Earth maintains a temperature conducive to life
One European negotiator said the administration is trying to "sidetrack the whole process so it is not confronted with the question, 'Do you believe in climate change, or don't you?'"
A European diplomat added that “U.S. negotiators say ’we already have a policy on global warming — we can’t have a new one just for the Arctic’.”
The negotiator added that while the other member nations will try to press the United States on the matter in the final talks, "I cannot see any solution to this unless (the Bush administration) clearly changes its position."
Parts of the report have been leaked in recent weeks, and the scientific overview, titled "Impacts of a Warming Arctic," is to be formally released Monday.
Scientists have agreed to discuss parts of the report ahead of full publication. And some European governments originally wanted the report issued before Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election.
FACT FILE What drives climate change?
• Solar input
• The atmosphere
• The oceans
• The water cycle
• Clouds
• Ice and snow
• Land surfaces
• Human influences
Solar input
A third of the sun's energy is reflected back into space after hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, but two thirds gets through, driving Earth's weather engine.
The atmosphere
A delicate balance of gases gives Earth its livable temperature. Known as "greenhouse" gases because they trap heat inside the atmosphere, they send a portion of that heat back to Earth's surface. The gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide.
The oceans
Covering two thirds of Earth, oceans are the key source of moisture in the air and they store heat efficiently, transporting it thousands of miles. The oceans and marine life also consume huge amounts of carbon dioxide.
The water cycle
Higher air temperatures can increase water evaporation and melting of ice. And while water vapor is the most potent greenhouse gas, clouds also affect evaporation, creating a cooling effect.
Clouds
They both cool Earth by reflecting solar energy and warm Earth by trapping heat being radiated up from the surface.
Ice and snow
The whiteness of ice and snow reflects heat out, cooling the planet. When ice melts into the sea, that drives heat from the ocean.
Land surfaces
Mountain ranges can block clouds, creating "dry" shadows downwind. Sloping land allows more water runoff, leaving the land and air drier. A tropical forest will soak up carbon dioxide, but once cleared for cattle ranching, the same land becomes a source of methane, a greenhouse gas.
Human influences
Humans might be magnifying warming by adding to the greenhouse gases naturally present in the atmosphere. Fuel use is the chief cause of rising carbon dioxide levels. On the other hand, humans create temporary, localized cooling effects through the use of aerosols, such as smoke and sulfates from industry, which reflect sunlight away from Earth.
Source: National Geographic; MSNBC • Print this
U.S. objection to wording
The Washington Post reported Thursday that the Bush administration has lobbied to drop a policy section stating that in order to meet climate goals set in 1992, the "Arctic Council urges the member states to individually and when appropriate, jointly, adopt climate change strategies across relevant sectors. These strategies should aim at the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gases."
Arctic Council
The cover page from the upcoming scientific overview prepared for the Arctic Council.
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A senior State Department official who asked not to be identified told the Post that "we're bound by the administration's position. We're not going to make global climate policy at the Arctic Council."
Environmental groups have urged the council to crack down.
“The big melt has begun,” Jennifer Morgan, director of the World Wildlife Fund’s global climate change campaign, said in a statement. She said industrialized nations were using the Arctic as a guinea pig in an uncontrolled experiment on climate change.
What's in the overview
The scientific overview, prepared by a team of 300 scientists from member nations, projects that temperatures in the Arctic will rise by 8 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit in the next 100 years. If temperatures then stayed stable, the Greenland icecap would melt altogether in 1,000 years and raise global sea levels by about 23 feet.
“We are taking a risk with the global climate,” said Paal Prestrud, vice-chair of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, which was tasked with writing the report.
The icecap has shrunk by 15-20 percent in the past 30 years and the contraction is likely to accelerate, Prestrud said. The Arctic Ocean could be almost ice-free in summer by the end of the century.
Inuit hunters are falling through ice, the overview states, permafrost is thawing and destabilizing foundations of buildings and vital winter roads while the habitat of creatures from polar bears to seals is literally melting away.
The overview does acknowledge that the thaw will have some positive side-effects. Oil and gas deposits will be easier to reach, more farming may be possible and shortcut trans-Arctic shipping lanes may open.
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